Fire-arms



l4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. W. S. SMOOT. RBPBATING' PIREARM.

No.- 97,821` Patented Deo. 14, 1869.

we: Nonms PETERS co, Mmmm-mo., WASHINGTON. u. c.

4 Sheets-Sheena.,

. W. s. SMOOT.

RBPEATING FIREARM.

No. 97,821. Patented Dee. 14, 1869.

W. s. SHOOT.

M R A E R.. I nr. G N Tl. mi A E P E R Patented Dec. 14, 1869.

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4- :Sheets-Sheet 4.

W. s. sMooT.

RBPBATING FIREARM.

Patented Dec. 14, 1869.

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Letters Patent No. 97,821, dated December 14, 1869.

IMPROYEMENT IN REPEATING- FIRE-ARMS The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patentand making part of the same lo all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SYDNEY SHOOT, of.

`wedge, for holding the several cartridges intheJ magazine lirmly in their respective positions, when it is desired to use the arm as'a single loader.

Figure 1, Sheet No. 1, is a longitudinal section Figure 2, an exterior view of the receiver;

.Figures 3 und 4, ront'and plan views of carrier;

Figures 5 and (i, plan and side views of breech or recoil-block Figure 7, a'transversc section in rear of the chamber; and

Figure S, a transverse section through the lockingkey.

Sheet No. 2 shows the same arrangement of breech and carrier combined, with a direct-'acting hammer and spiral l'nain-sprin.

The barrel A is ot' any convenient size or calibre, and screws into a receiver or breech-housing,

In the accompanying drawing, the various parts are plot-ted full size, and adapted for a barrel of half-inch bore, carrying a cartridge two and a qua-rter inches in length.

The breech-block B slides back and forth on top ot' the receiver, and is held in place by ribs tt, which slide in grooves in the upper portion of the housinir. (See dotted lines, 8.)

".lhe block B is supported against the recoil by an annular eccentric key, L, mounted on a cylindrical offset or stem, B', on the rear portion of the breechblock, and held in place by a ferrule, ln, which screws on the said stem in rear of the key, and is further secured by a set-screw or pin.

This ferrnlcl nl is given the same exteriorshape as the body of' the breech-plug.

The eccentric key L is capable of a vibratorymovement upon the stem B', so as to pass into or out of the slot in the receiver, for the puipose of locking or unlocking the breech.

The shape of this key is pecuhar, being under-cnt,y

as shown in fi". l, to resist any upward component of the recoil. that may result from a yielding of the metal of the breech, and wedge-shaped in the direction of its angular movement, to close the breech rmly against the barrel.

A stud, i, and groove, in the front edge of the key, limit the amount of angular movement of the latter.

The tiring-pin or plunger h passes through the ccntre oi' the breech or recoil-block B, and communicates the blow of the hammer J to thecartridgc.

Instead ot' thisa1rm1ge111c11t othan'nner and firingpin, I have devised the plan shown 011 Sheet No. 2, where thc tiring-pin is hollow, to contain a spiral mainspring, and constitutes the hammer.

This latter arrangement is somewhat cheaper, but I prefer that shown on Sheet No. l..

A head on the rear end of the firing-pin passes up through a slot in the .recoil-block, and enters an oblique-sided notch in the locking-key, (see dotted line, fig. 6,) so that the actot' unlocking the breech forces back the firing-pin out ofl contact with the cartridge, and sets the hummel-wt half cock.

A lip, hi, extending' forward, covers the space-bctwcen thel tiring-pin and key, to prevent the entrance of dirt.

The hammer J is pivot-ed at 1n to the sides ot' the receiver, and is half cocked, as inst described, by the act of unlocking the breech, and full cocked in the act of withdrawing the breech to its loading-position.

The arrangement of the trigger, main-spring, sc., does not differ from that now in use.

The magazine-tube G is placed under the barrel, and may be covered by the stock. Its rear end is let into the receiver, and inclined upward, `to facilitate the passage ot' the cartridges into the carrier.

In the bottom of the magazine is a sliding rod, 2C', moved back and forth by the eccentric stud 11", and having its under side formed into a series of ratchets, corresponding in number and position with the obliquefaced studs on the lower side ofthe magazine-tube.

The cart-ridges are fed to the rear, into the carrier I, by a spiral spring, d. This springis provided with a guiding-1 "Inger, I1, at its rear end.

ln fabrmating this magazine-tube, I prefer making it in halves, divided longitudinally, and with a slot between the two pieces, in which slot slides a stud, on the plunger b, said stud and slot performing the `function of guiding and limiting the movement of the plunger.

In cross-section this tube is elliptical, with a: vrtieal major axis, so as to allowspacey for the rod C, without unnecessarily increasing the bulk of the magazme.

The carrier E is pivoted to the sides of the receiver at E', above the centre of the magazine, so that when in its lower position, it shall form an incline, up which .the cartridges may be forced by the spiral feedingspring, and is capable of a limited vibration upon its pivot, so as to lift the cartridge into line with the barrel.

Vmovement of the breech. j

carrier, and bears `against a shoulder on the receiver,

An arm, I, extends from the upper side of tire earrier-block, and engages with a shoulder at the front end of the slot in the under side of the breech-block, when the latter is withdrawn, so as to obtainthe necessary vibration of .the carrier from the' backward A spring, Q, is attached to the. under side of' the to hold the carrier in such position, relatively to the magazine, that the passage of cartridges therefrom is prevented, except when the carrier is forced down, by -the breech-plug. v

rlhe cartridges which l propose using in this gun are formed with a depression in the base, at the bottom-of which depression is'the priming.

flhe bullets are truncated, so as to tit over the sidesof this recess, and be thus prevented from resting against the priming.

On either side ot' the carrier-block are lever-catches H, pivoted at a', and pressed together by springs p', so as to grasp the cartridge w-hile in the carrier, and prevent its accidental expulsion. l

Inclines-r r are formed on the sides ofthe receiver, and operate' in connection with the lever-catches H, to hold the latter in such position as to permit the ii'ee passage backward of the cartridge, while the carrier is in its lower position, but allow the said level'- catches to grasp the cartridge in any other position of the carrier.

These catches may be arranged to control thc passage of cartridges from the magazine by forming them in such manner that their extreme front ends shall project inward further than the other portion, so that the ilange of the rearinost of the 'cartridges in the magazine may rest against the front ends ofthese catches at thc same time that vthe cartridge in the carrier passes freely.

`The cartridge-retractor, which l have designed to opel-ate in Connection with my' sliding breech, consists ol a lever-catch, 0, lpivoted to the breech at p, formed with a tooth, s, that bears against the side of the receiver, and holds the hook 0 irml y against the sideL oi' the ease.

A groove is formed'in the side ofthe receiver at M, to permit the retractor to disengage itself from the cartridge-shell, yand embrace the flange of that next inserted.

A. stud, V, is formed on the tace-of the breech-plug, opposite the cartridge-rctractor, and the flange of the shell is held irmly between it andthe front end of the lever (l).

'Both the retractor and stud are placed above the centre of the barrel, to hold'the shell down until its front end is removed from the chamber.

A spring, 11, is placed under the lever O, to disengage it from the shell, when permitted by the groove M, in the side of the receiver.

I 11 place of the arrangcmentj ust described for dis-- engaging the lever from the cartridge after the removal of the latter, the'dcvice shown in figs. 5 and 3 may bc used. lhis dili'ers from the above only in the employment of an oblirpie-ilced stud Z 011 the carrierbloek, to, act in connection with the tooth s, for the purpose oi' freeing the lever-catch O from thel cartridge-case, toward the end ofthe backward movement of thc breech.

Operation of the Arm.

'.lo load: tevolve the locking-key L upon its ccntre, by means of the handle .L. This withdraws the point ofthe firing-pin ii'onrcont-act with the cartridgepriming, by means ot' the oblique-sided notch in the upper portion ofthe key acting in connection with the stud on the head ofthe pin, at the same time that it disengages thc key from its seat in the receiver.' Draw l ack the slidin g-brcech plu g, and pass the cartridges into the rear of the ma. azine, over the top ofthe vibratingcarrier. After th insertionof each cartridge, the carrier holds it in the magazine, as explained. Then close the breech. On again pulling vback the breech-plug, the rear cartridge in the magazine, which has been allowed to pass into thecarrier by the depression of the latter, Aconsequent upon the closing of the breech,

passes up the inclined carrier-block, and, by a continuation of the backward movement of' the breech, which vibrates the carrier upon its pivot'E', is lifted' intolinewith' the barrel. 'lhe'sam'e backward movement of the breechI cocks the hammer. 'lhe closing of the breech forces the cartridge into the chamber'.

0nv again Aunlocking and withdrawing .the breech, after the discharge of' the arm, the same operation of the various parts obtains, with the exception, that as:l -t-he exploded case is withdrawn by the lever-catch, the succeeding cartridge cannot pass all the way into the carrier unt-il the flange-end ofthe preceding cartridge-ease is freed from the retraetor, when theI` entering cartridge is thrown forcibly up the incline with sulicieut power to eject the exploded caseA from the receiver. The rearward movement of the cartridges in the magazine is effected by the spiral feedingspring.

To use the arm as a single loader, the button F is turned so as to move forward the slide 2G', by which the several cartridges are firmly held in their respective positions. y

I know that prerious'to my invention, gunshave been made with reciprocating breech-plugs, sliding in a receiver, or housing in rear of the barrel, and locked in a variety/oi' ways; butl am not aware that any gun has ever been made with a breech sliding in grooves on top of the receiver, and lockedagainst the recoil by an annular eccentric key, as in my invention.

I also know that the cartridge-magazines ofrepeating fire-arms have been arranged to hold the cartridges separate from eachother, as. in theinvention of V. Fogarty, patented in 1865. z

In the case referred to, the magazine is divided longitudinally, andthe t'wo parts, which are movable with respect to each othcnare held together by a spring-clip.

The cartridges rest in oblique-sided grooves in the magazine-walls, and are kept apart only by the pressure of the spring closing the two halves of the magazine together.

In my invention, the magazine is rigidly attached to the barrel and receiver, and no' part is movable except the sliding rod 2C', which is actuated by the turnbutton F, to wedge the several cartridges against the side of the magazine, byapositive movement of the rod and eccentric stud.

I also know that cartridge-retractors have been made to lock positivelyagainst the flange of the case,

as in the invention of C. B Richards, patented August 18, 1868; and this, broadly, as well as the other devices above mentioned as being old, I disclaim.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

l. '.Lhecombination of an annular key or eccentric sleeve L, vibra-ting upon the exterior of' the breechblock, with the continuous solid breech-block B and feathers t t, -the whole'ibrming a breech-system, reciprocating upon the top of the frame, and available throughout its entire length, ibr the reception of a main-spring and guiding-flange or feather.

2. The combination of the spring Q, with the carrier-block H, and a magazine-tube, G, loaded 'from above and in rear, the whole being arranged in such manner, that after theinscrtion ot'each cartridge into the magazine, the carrier shall be caused to partially cover the month or ent'ance thereof, to prevent the expulsion of the cartridge.

3, The wedge-laced bar 2C', operating in connection with :t series ofinelines on the bot-tom of the magazne, toho1d the cartridges rmly in p1ace.

4. A cartridge-retractor, consisting of :t lever-catch, D, hinged to the sliding breech-block, :md operated upon by the side ofthe frame, to force it against the cartridge-case during the forward movement of the breech, and .by :t spring, u, shoulder, z, or other* equivalent device, to disengage it from' the ange of the cartridge torald the latter portion of its backward movement.

5. The retaining-fingers H, in combination with the pivoted carrier-block E, and inolines fr fr, on the sides of the breech-frame, the whole operating substantially as and for the purpose set fort-h.

Witnes ses:

PETER RroRDAN, RUDOLPH WALTER.

W. S. SMOOT. 

